Onésime
|birthplace = France |birthday = June 17, 1561 |age = 20 (physical) 450 (actual) |gender = Male |height = 188 cm (6'2") |weight = 70 kg (154 lbs) |blood type = AB- |affiliation = The Coven |previous affiliation = Wandenreich |profession = Coven menial |previous profession = apprentice Soldat ( ) |partner = Rana |base of operations = Bankawa District, East Rukongai, |relatives = Unnamed father and mother (deceased) |education = |doll = Albtraum |roleplay debut = Corrupted Shadow |}} Onésime (オネイズイーメ, Oneizuīme) is a who currently operates from the Rukongai as a mageless slave for the Coven, serving directly under Rana. Unlike the Bounts created by , Onésime was the accidental result of a ritual in which a sorcerer attempted to revive his dead son. Formerly, Onésime served in the as a until he was defeated in battle by and away in the Soul Society some time before . Recently, he has been released from his seal and once again terrorizes the Rukongai by killing and eating the souls who reside there. His is named Albtraum (アルブツラム, Arubutsuramu; German for "nightmare"). Appearance Onésime is a tall man with a lithe, narrowly built frame, appearing to be in his early twenties. He has wavy, dark hair that is almost ebony in color, which he keeps at neck-length in a rather disheveled state. His thick bangs hang over his face, and his amber eyes often seem to glow ominously from under their shadows. His features are elegant and somewhat feminine, and he has high cheekbones, a soft, pointed jaw line, a long refined nose, and thin, delicate lips and eyebrows. These traits are reflected in his hands, with elongated, skeletal fingers. Most notable, however, is his skin. Others have described Onésime’s uncanny brownish-gray complexion as resembling that of a corpse, furthering the eeriness of his appearance. Also of note is the unusual, cross-shaped scar on his throat: the result of a fatal attack by a . Onésime’s expression is often that of disinterest or distance, and rarely does a hint of emotion cross his face. Perhaps most disconcertingly are his half-lidded, dull eyes. They have no light to them, and his intentions remain indiscernible. Yet there is a hidden threat behind his eyes, and if one looks close enough they are overwhelmed with the sense that they are staring into their own death. Originally, Onésime wore the clothes typical for the 16th century middle class. Over the years his style changed to accommodate the times, gaining a cloak and hat during the 1800’s, for instance, or adopting a rather elaborate black jacket that imitated a uniform while in the Wandenreich. No matter the era, the dark colors and plain design of his clothing has remained consistent. He currently wears a black suit coat and vest over a plain, collared white shirt, black slacks and dress shoes, and white gloves and a necktie typical of the late 1800’s. Onésime also keeps a metal chain on his belt loop, to which he attaches the object used to seal his Doll. While his outfit seems to reflect good taste, it is also rather “stiff,” and he appears to have put on his best for burial as opposed to another formal event. Personality Regarded as little more than a pawn or weapon in the hands of his masters, Onésime is nevertheless an enigma whom even the most astute individuals would find difficult to predict or fully understand. Having being subjected to subservience for the majority of his life, particularly under the strict regime of the Wandenreich, he has come to equate obedience with survival. As a result, he exhibits a resigned and indifferent demeanor, although he inwardly longs for the acceptance and praise of a master. Onésime remains truly loyal to his masters and will obey them willingly, if mindlessly. Unfortunately, he is unable to articulate these sentiments as he was rendered mute by the Hollow who tore out his throat, and while his body was reanimated by his father his ability to speak was never restored. The desire to please others also affected him even during his incarnation as a human, when he sought the attention of his father through his attempts at alchemy. His short life was marked by insatiable curiosity, an eager disposition, and infectious enthusiasm for any undertaking he put his mind to. Onésime was a highly intelligent child, and despite being largely self-taught, capable of the grasping complex concepts and theories at a young age. However, after being resurrected as a Bount, Onésime lost all emotion and his intelligence was greatly diminished. As a shell of a living being, initially the only emotion he could feel was loneliness due to his inability to connect with or understand those around him, which caused him immense, inexplicable pain. Privy to memories of his past life, he witnessed the joy, love, mercy, and a host of other human experiences that remained alien and incomprehensible to him. Nonetheless, with the passage of time a connection with his father was fostered, and eventually Onésime began to feel genuine yet unreciprocated love towards his maker. His reactions and expressions reflected this growing sentiment, and as a result he began to seem more “human.” Before summoning his Doll, Onésime lacked any sense of individuality and was nearly unable to function unless he followed the commands of a superior. But after he called forth and merged with Albtraum, he began to experience a will and desire of his own. After tasting the spiritual energy of a living being he became addicted to the sensation of flooding power which, for a brief instant, would drown out his emptiness with sensual pleasure. It was also the first time he was able to truly grasp the meaning of pain, and he quickly developed an intense aversion to it. Onésime not only hates, but fears suffering, both physical and emotional, and will go out of his way to avoid it at all costs, even disregarding the command of his master to do so. In fact, this effect is so powerful and deeply rooted within the core of his being that he is even at times capable of resisting the imposition of hypnosis or enchantment. Under the rare circumstance where he does experience pain, Onésime becomes notably agitated, displaying hints of desperation and destructive tendencies. He will lash out at the source of his pain and attempt to eliminate it as quickly as possible, regardless of whether that source is an enemy, his master, or even himself. While in this state, it appears the only thing capable of quieting him is the sating taste of a living soul. History Onésime was originally born as a human in late 16th century France. His mother died of illness a few years after he was born, and he was raised in relative isolation in the countryside by his father, who was a silversmith, philosopher, alchemist, and who had fled from the folds of the to pursue his own ideals. While not spiritually aware himself, Onésime’s father was able to commune and interact with the spirits of the deceased, and thus from an early age Onésime was convinced of the existence of the supernatural. Wanting to please his father above all else, he worked hard to study his father’s craft, reading countless tomes on the subject of alchemy in order to discover the secrets of transmutation. While proud that his son was following in his footsteps, Onésime’s father never allowed him to practice anything beyond basic spell-casting as he feared that, by dabbling into the spiritual realm, his spiritually blind son would place himself in danger of the that so often lurked in the shadows. When Onésime was about the age of sixteen, he discovered that the “muse” his father had consulted with for over a decade was actually the of his mother, who had been unable to pass on after death and had instead remained by her husband’s side in the World of the Living. Gradually, he came to long for the chance to speak to his mother directly, and thus became incensed with the idea of summoning her to the physical plane. In an attempt to impress his father and to meet his mother face-to-face, Onésime devoted himself entirely to his goal, although he hid his efforts from his father as he sensed, instinctively, that what he was doing was wrong. At last, with the proper preparations complete, he attempted to summon his mother’s spirit and successfully bound her soul to a transmutation circle through his invocations. However, the process forcibly corroded the remains of her , and she became a Hollow. When Onésime completed the summoning ritual, what appeared before his eyes was not his mother but a monster, who promptly attacked him. Sensing the sudden outpouring of spiritual pressure, his father arrived just in time to watch as his son’s throat was torn out by the demon. Driven by grief and rage, he managed to fight off the Hollow, who seemed hesitant to harm him and quickly relented. It was as though the last shreds of the Hollow’s humanity prevented her from attacking the man she had loved so deeply as a human, and she could only watch as her husband cradled their dying son in his arms. Onésime wanted desperately to offer a word of apology to his weeping father, but was in the end unable to do so and slipped into death’s embrace silently. However, his soul was fortunately spared from being consumed by his mother’s Hollow, and he was reborn into the with no memories of his past existence in the human world. Unable to bear the pain of losing both his wife and his son, Onésime’s father vowed to himself that he would at least try to save one of his loved ones. While he had been forced to exorcise his wife after she became a Hollow, he preserved his son’s body in hopes that he would someday discover a means to revive him. Throughout his years of travelling the world, even discovering elixir of immortality, he at last stumbled across rumors of a race of who preserved their lives by consuming human souls. Often labeled as “vampires,” he was drawn to the Bounts because of their human nature, and after years of research he discovered a means to replicate the soul of a Bount, although he mistakenly believed the process would allow him to call his son’s spirit back from the afterlife. However, the only way it could be done was by sacrificing the soul of a to complete the ritual. At the time, the only possible way for him to procure such an ingredient was through means of the most powerful, invisible society who had access to the Soul Society at the time. Thus, with no other recourses available to him, Onésime’s father pledged the remainder of his life in service to the Wandenreich in exchange for a Shinigami he so desperately required. After retrieving Onésime’s body from the World of the Living, his father successfully merged the soul of the Shinigami with that of a detached human soul, binding the two entities into one within the preserved corpse. Onésime’s father was overjoyed when he was “reborn,” although it soon became very clear that something was terribly amiss. While Onésime was able to access the memories stored within the mind of his body’s former owner, he did not understand them. Nor could he process human emotion, and his intellect was severely limited due to the influence of the component of his soul. At first, Onésime’s father was horrified of his creation, and expressed hatred and negligence towards the newborn Bount. Considered to be an anomaly— a proverbial Frankenstein— the other members of the Wandenreich detested Onésime and either avoided him or abused him. Eventually, after observing the silently endured cruelties inflicted by the Quincy, his father discovered pity towards Onésime and took it upon himself to protect the Bount. A century passed, and Onésime’s power grew from within the shadowy confine of the Wandenreich. Over the years, Onésime had come to recognize the care and compassion shown to him by his maker, and while it took decades, a sense of love had been fostered within his heart, even though he had no name for the emotion. Constantly at his creator’s side and unquestionably loyal, he would often accompany him on his missions to the human world, where Onésime would feast upon the souls of the recently deceased. It was during one such journey when, under his father’s careful direction, he first summoned his . But as he held the tiny seed of Albtraum in his hand, a shadow began to grow in his heart. For with the birth of his Doll Onésime had gained a sense of individuality. As Albtraum continued to gain strength and power, Onésime began to question the purpose of his existence. Plagued by the complexity of his own thoughts, Onésime became tormented as he could not understand the ache within his chest that he experienced every time his father praised him or smiled at him with compassion. Unable to recognize that it was genuine yet unrequited love that pained him, he instead decided to eliminate the source of his suffering. And so he consumed the soul of his father. At first the pain was even greater than it had been before, but gradually his grief subsided to a dull ache until, at last, he was unable to feel it at all. In the absence of his father, Onésime became a mindless slave to the Wandenreich, carrying out whatever will they had for him without question and with the upmost efficiency. However, after tasting his father’s soul, he gained an insatiable hunger for the souls of living humans: a desire which would later become his undoing. Just after the turn of the 20th century, the Wandenreich assigned Onésime an espionage mission in the Soul Society. He emerged in the Rukongai and, relishing the chance to feast upon the helpless souls who resided there, grew careless and alerted the notice of the Gotei 13 due to the high death count. Originally, the had issued a small squadron of Shinigami to dispatch him, but when none of the members returned, it was decided that more drastic measures should be taken. Instead of mobilizing the to deal with the unknown threat, however, a small party of members from the , led by , were tasked with capturing the murderer for further investigation. After pursuing Onésime deep into the East Rukongai, Hachigen finally succeeded in him, although by that time Onésime had already killed all the other members of the squad. Due to the injuries he had sustained in the battle, Hachigen was forced to return to the Seireitei. He buried Onésime deep within the earth so the seal would not be disturbed, intending to retrieve him at a later date. However, before he could even compile his report regarding the captured Bount, he became involved in another much more historically significant and was banished from the Soul Society, leaving Onésime utterly forgotten for another hundred years. Plot Bleach: Corrupted Shadow Onésime awakens in Bankawa District in late autumn. After calling two, hapless farmers to himself using the nightmare-inducing abilities of his Doll, he consumes their souls and begins to regain his powers. Corrupted Shadow#Prologue While not shown explicitly, it is assumed that he begins hunting for more souls in and around Bankawa, as by the third night the number of his victims has risen high enough to alert the notice of the Gotei 13. Corrupted Shadow#The Assignment Shortly after the investigation unit sent by the Gotei 13 arrives in Bankawa, Onésime claims the life of an old, ailing man, which causes a disturbance in the village. Corrupted Shadow#Into Darkness He escapes into the forest along the edge of the riverbed and is pursued by the Shinigami. Onésime attacks Takashi Sakuma and absorbs the spiritual energy released by the lieutenant’s before trapping him within an induced nightmare.Corrupted Shadow#Hunting Then, attracted by the Reiatsu that accompanies the appearance of Dack, Onésime interrupts the Hollow’s fight with Naomi Shirogane by completely consuming the creature. With the sudden increase of energy, Onésime is easily able to subdue Naomi.Corrupted Shadow#Hungering Initially, he expresses the desire consume her as well, but he is unaware of whether his unknown “master” would allow him to do so, and thus decides to bring his captive to them. Before he is able to leave the riverbed, Glacies Fidus and Takashi arrive to stop him. Onésime attacks them with a horde of cutting shadows in the shape of ravens. Glacies counters with an ice storm, and Onésime is forced to take Naomi hostage in order to force the Shinigami to step down. However, after Takashi creates a distraction Glacies is able to wrest Naomi from Onésime’s control using his Bibliotheca. Onésime is wounded by a shard of ice thrown by Glacies, and begins to lash out at everything around him. He nearly lands a fatal blow on Takashi, but Glacies shields him from the piercing shadows. Denied his retribution and still suffering from the pain of his wound, Onésime escapes into the night. Corrupted Shadow#Shadow’s Birth Powers and Abilities Enhanced Strength: Despite his frail and lanky build, Onésime possesses a superhuman level of strength, surprising his opponents with strong, sudden attacks. He has an iron grip, and is unshakeable once he dig’s his fingers into a victim’s flesh. (Verification needed). Genius Intellect: *'Multilingual:' Onésime speaks French, German, and Japanese fluently. (Verification needed). Reishi Absorption: Like all Bounts, Onésime is able to draw in ambient Reishi in order to strengthen his own powers. Instead of utilizing non-living substances formed of Reishi for sustenance, he preys upon the souls of the living, as the Reishi is much more concentrated and "pure," thus allowing him to absorb Reishi more efficiently. Hypnosis: Onésime appears to be able to "call" certain individuals to himself, although it is unknown whether or not he is capable of hypnotizing individuals with high Reiatsu. Doll Albtraum: (German for "Nightmare"). Onésime’s doll grants him the ability to absorb the power of others, whether that be through an energy projectile or a Zanpakuto release. The one stipulation is that he must be connected via shadows to whatever object he wishes to absorb. *'Shadow Manipulation': Once he has summoned his doll, Onésime can shape and move the shadows that he gathers to himself, and they move like “inky fingers... growing ever darker and looming... like a wide, yawning chasm.” Corrupted Shadow – Prologue *'Alternate Dimension': Albtraum’s most impressive power is the fact that it can create an alternate dimension where Onésime is capable of storing power that he has absorbed. He can also transport people and objects in and out of this dimension. This allows him a small degree of teleportation, as he can slip in and out of this dimension at will, and has trained extensively in order to accomplish this feat instantly and fluidly. However, he can only access this alternate dimension if he is connected to shadow in one way or another. ::Stille Nacht: (German for "Silent Night") Once a victim has been trapped within the alternate dimension, Onésime can "paralyze" them and destroy their mind through fear, using illusions: whatever they fear most will be made manifest, appearing physical and tangible to whoever is trapped. Even though they do not really exist, these illusions can become so real to the captive that they can actually inflict bodily, as well as mental, harm. Trivia *"Onésime" is the French form of Onesimus, the Latinized form of the Greek name Ονησιμος (Onesimos), which meant "beneficial, profitable." Onesimus was an escaped slave that appeared in the . *The quote at the beginning of this article was adapted from a poem used to describe the Bounts in Bleach canon. *Onésime's appearance is based off of Tykki Mik, a character from the series. The images used in this article were not drawn by the author. 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